SANParks Week: See the Big 5 for FREEby Dalene Ingham-Brown

September 12th, 2011

To celebrate South African National Parks (SANParks) Week, from Monday, 12 September until Friday, 16 September 2011 all locals with a valid identity document are invited to spend a day at a national park of their choice free of charge! Free entry into all South African National Parks (except Boulders Beach) sounds like a great reason to embark on one of the best African safaris, as many of the national parks offer sightings of the Big Five.

The point of the week is to create a feeling of pride in all South Africans in their relation to the country's natural, cultural and historical heritage, under the SANParks theme of "Know Your National Parks". SANParks Week was created in 2006 when the organisation realized that the majority of South Africans were not accessing the national park. According to SANParks General Manager: Media Relations, Reynold Thakhuli, "SANParks then embarked upon this campaign to encourage all South Africans, especially those from the communities around the parks, to share in what SANParks envisions to be "the pride and joy of all South Africans and the world". "We especially want our young people to take advantage of this opportunity because this heritage will be under their protection in the near future," Thakhuli added. South African educators and school groups are urged to take advantage of SANParks Week’s offer for free entry into the parks and plan a visit to a national park nearby.

Planning a road trip to one of your national parks and need to hire a car?